Belarusian Phelps. Igor Bokiy became the most titled athlete of the Paralympics. Swimmer Igor Bokiy became a six-time Paralympic champion

Belarusian amphibian man, Michael Phelps of the London Paralympics and, of course, our new national pride– 18-year-old swimmer Igor Bokiy spoke to reporters today. The five-time Paralympic champion told us which medal was the most difficult for him, what surprised him most in London and what he dreams of doing in the future.

Talent, perseverance and a competent coach are the key to success

During his short sports career, Igor Bokiy managed to win 4 gold medals at the Paralympic World Championships in 2010, 4 golds and 1 bronze at the 2011 European Paralympic Championships, and took second place in 2010 at the French Open. However world fame The Belarusian athlete received 5 highest-quality awards and one silver at the current Paralympics in London.

“Igor’s medals are a great joy for us. I first saw this young man back in 2008, and he made a lasting impression on me. Although he was still quite weak then, I, as a professional coach, still saw in him a swimmer with capital letters. When it turned out that Igor had vision problems, we decided to study in the Paralympic program. The first two years of training were very gentle, and after that, when the athlete became stronger, we began to train more efficiently and professionally and achieved brilliant results. You know, Igor even had his own fans and admirers. He swam the last distance, 400 meters, late in the evening, and people were not too lazy to stand in line for tickets and come to the stadium to cheer for him; the stands were completely filled! It is very nice!" – said Igor Bokiy’s coach Gennady Vishnyakov.

After the Paralympics in London, no one had any doubt that Igor is a super-gifted athlete. But, as we know, talent alone is not enough.

“I started swimming at the age of six. At first, like many people, I didn’t like it at all, but then I got involved, and everything became different! Some people start something, and as soon as difficulties arise, they give up and give up what they started. But when you like something, you must do it, you must go towards your goal, and for this you need very serious perseverance. The support of a coach, parents and close relatives also helps,” the new sports star shared the secrets of success.

Of course, all gold medals are won with great effort and are highly valued. But among all the seemingly identical ones, there is always the one you are most proud of.

“The most expensive Paralympic medal for me is the first. It was very difficult for me to get ready to complete this distance, but when I won, I gained confidence,” said Igor.

Cherished dreams - all about swimming

The immediate plans of the Belarusian Paralympic champion are to rest properly, recover and start training again. Igor swims twice a day, six times a week for 2-2.5 hours. Now sport will also have to be combined with studies: the champion entered the correspondence department of BSU, majoring in logistics and economics. Despite choosing a “non-sports” profession, Igor has no plans to give up swimming just yet.

“Apart from sports, today I have no hobbies. Therefore, I will try to stay in the sport for as long as I can. All my dreams are connected only with swimming: I want to win more Paralympic medals, I want to take part in the “healthy” Olympics and show good results there, in general I want to participate in high-level competitions. But when I have to leave, I’m going to work in the profession I’m currently studying for.”

London Paralympics 2012

The significant achievements of the athletes at the past competitions in London were also facilitated by the high level of organization of sporting events, living conditions and recreation of the participants.

“The 2012 Paralympics were held very well high level. I liked everything even more than at the World and European Championships. What impressed me most was that among those abroad, the Paralympic competitions are no less interesting than those held among healthy people. The stands were always crowded, thunderous applause did not stop... We, unfortunately, do not have such attention,” Bokiy shared his impressions with journalists.

Igor celebrated his success in London after returning to his homeland: “We sat at the table with his parents and close relatives.” In the capital of Great Britain everything free time spent on excursions around the city and visiting 74 halls of the famous royal Buckingham Palace.

It is known that the prize money for Belarusian athletes for the 2012 Paralympic Games will be USD 50,000 for gold, USD 30,000 for silver and USD 20,000 for bronze. In addition, the winners will be eligible for presidential scholarships. Igor has not yet decided where he will spend the money he earned in London.

The fantastic sporting achievements of Igor Bokiy are an example of enormous hard work, perseverance, and willpower, which must be learned as healthy people, and those whose capabilities are limited. The 18-year-old Paralympian proved to the whole world that anyone can achieve their goal no matter what, and all limitations exist only within ourselves.

Natalia Nazarenko

Igor Bokiy’s most important record cannot be measured in seconds or meters. In mid-September, 18-year-old swimmer Igor Bokiy set three world records and returned from London with six medals at the XIV Summer Paralympics - five of them gold, one silver. The smiling Belarusian guy was liked by millions of fans from different countries the world, who dubbed him the “Belarusian Phelps” and the “Bobruisk torpedo.”

But Igor’s main record is not expressed in seconds or meters. He is a huge distance traveled in his own head and soul: from a child with physical limitations to an athlete who set his sights on an Olympic record.

How Igor swam in the 400-meter race

Bobruisk residents Elena and Alexander Bokiy did not watch the live broadcast from the Paralympic Games on the Internet: they were too worried. We learned all the news from the coach and familiar fans.

When Igor was supposed to finish the 400-meter race, for some reason the phones were silent. Elena couldn’t stand it and dialed the coach’s number herself.

“Everything is fine, the start was just delayed,” explained a voice from distant London. - Here Igor jumped, he is second... here he is third, fourth... sixth...

What - sixth? - Elena, confused by the calm tone of her interlocutor, did not understand.

Don't worry, he's not swimming yet. He is bathing.

The video of this swim on the Bokiy family’s computer perfectly illustrates the mentor’s words. Swimmers plow the lanes shoulder to shoulder. Only the rivals work with their hands with all their might, and Igor seems to be swimming for his own pleasure: where the competitors have three strokes, the Belarusian has two. In the middle of the distance, Igor adds pace, easily overtakes competitors on turns, increases the gap... takes the lead by 20 meters, leaving no chance for his opponents!

The commentator is choking from an excess of emotions, and the 14,000-seat audience bursts into applause.

Abroad, the Paralympic Games are no less popular than the Olympics, says Oleg Shepel, Chairman of the Paralympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus. - Numerous English fans already know three Belarusian names - Azarenka, Mirny and Bokiy. No politician will do more for mutual understanding between peoples than athletes.

On the role of a father's belt in instilling honesty

Igor came to the pool a year earlier than he went to school.

He was so nimble that every day I went to kindergarten with apprehension: what did he do this time? - says mom. - Ran away from kindergarten, got into a fight, didn’t listen? I cried, we scolded him - nothing helped. This chaotically beating energy had to be directed somewhere.

Martial arts were immediately rejected: “he fights like that.” Injurious sports were crossed out at my mother’s request: “so that I would worry less.” We stopped for a swim.

Up until the sixth grade, there were many nuances with Igor’s behavior,” says Elena. - Later, teachers began to praise him: they say he studies well, and is passionate about various subjects, from drawing to mathematics.

The swimming section of Bobruisk coach Natalya Pozdnyakova includes daily training during the school year and a double load during the holidays. Igor didn’t get involved right away.

He was kicked out of training,” Alexander recalls. - He was afraid to tell us about it. It also happened: I bring him to training, wait in the hall. The coach comes out and is surprised: what are you doing here? Well, I say, I’m waiting for my son. It turns out that Igor was asked to leave the section a week ago and all this time he went into the locker room, wet his head with water and waited out the training.

“Dad was hit with a belt more than once for cheating,” Elena admits. - Because we got used to our son’s pranks, but we didn’t want to get used to lies.

How Igor tried to “negotiate”

Already in the first grade, Igor’s vision “swimmed,” says Elena Bokiy. “We went to the doctors every month, but we couldn’t stop the process. We heard a version that these problems are caused by bleach, so you will have to give up swimming. But our doctor Tatyana Yakovenko supported us: on the contrary, swimming in our case can be useful.

Seven-year-old Igor lost his first competition and cried bitterly about it. He generally had a hard time withstanding failure. Once, having not shown the first result at the regional competitions in Mogilev, he was even eager to jump back and “swim over again.”

Dad stimulated his son’s sporting achievements with long-awaited gifts and money. When Igor was no more than nine years old, Alexander promised him a cash prize if his son would overtake his longtime friend and rival Pasha in a competition. Until then, Igor had never managed to reach the finish line before him.

Hearing this tempting promise, Igor approached Pasha with a proposal: give in, and we’ll split the money in half,” Elena laughs. - Pasha told his mother, his mother told the coach, and the coach was not at all surprised: oh, he said, this happens so often!

Igor overtook Pasha a year later, to be honest. Although Pavel was and remains a strong athlete, he is now training at the Republican Olympic Training Center. But Igor was not taken there at the time.

We had a referral, but our son did not pass the medical examination due to poor eyesight,” says Elena. - Then I wanted him to quit swimming. It was urgent to look for another option in life, to improve my studies. But the coach and husband persuaded me to leave everything as it is for another year.

Why doors and hearts must be kept open

And then, probably, fate intervened: the parents learned that Igor could qualify for the status of a Paralympic athlete, and coach Gennady Vishnyakov noticed the capable boy.

In Belarus there is no equipment with which you can examine the fundus of the eye and determine the degree of health loss of a visually impaired person, says Elena. - My son took his first commission in Germany, then in Holland and London. He now has Paralympic status for four years.

According to statistics, eight percent of Belarusians have disabilities. Every year about two thousand people become visually impaired.

Many people don’t know that they can go into Paralympic sports,” says Elena. - Families raising special children very often withdraw into their own inner world. We need them to be with us, play sports, and not sit at home.

I wish everyone to gain confidence and find the strength to do what they love,” echoes Igor.

Returning from London, Igor left his loved ones at the festive table and went to see friends. Then - to the Bobruisk disco. Mom didn’t let the champion go right away: she couldn’t get used to the idea that Igor was already an adult.

No, I say, I don’t allow it,” says Elena. - Igor was offended: “You didn’t let me in before the Olympics - they said, you’ll let me go after the competition. And now it’s starting again...” I had to let him go, but I still called him every hour.

At the disco, Igor was recognized by the guards. They asked to take a photo as a souvenir.

We worry about him, how not to worry,” Alexander admits. - I want him to rest after the excitement, because he has studies at BSU and training ahead. At the end of September we will go on vacation with the whole family, Igor is just choosing the route - United Arab Emirates, Egypt or Maldives.

Returning from this trip, the Bokiy family will move to Minsk. Bye we're talking about about a rented apartment.

We don't want Igor to be left alone in big city, say the parents. - Someone needs to help him solve everyday issues. After all, he has two training sessions and school every day, so lunch, at best, will come down to a snack at McDonald’s.

Intensive training will help Igor realize his dream - to set a world record in the 400-meter among juniors. No discounts for health conditions. Competitions where there will be chances to do this will begin in three months.

Igor
Bokiy- the same guy who
shot at the London Paralympics with four gold medals and a silver. More
only our gymnast had it Vitaliy
Shcherbo(won at the Olympics
in Barcelona 1992 six gold medals).

Igor competes with athletes
with vision category B-3. In simple words is a condition between disability and
just bad eyesight. Such swimmers do not require coaching prompts during the races.
Although they see the path vaguely, they independently change their position as they approach
to the side.

“They have a narrower field of vision and the retina is opaque.
There are a lot of factors that must be characteristic of these people, explains
Euroradio
Chairman of the Paralympic Committee of Belarus Oleg Shepel. - The athlete undergoes an independent international
medical commission before the competition. It is very difficult to deceive someone there. There
It’s not even the doctors who check, but the machines. You look at the screen and the vision parameters are displayed…”.

Photo from the personal archive of Igor Bokiy

We're calling
straight to London to the chief of the Belarusian mission, who hands over the earphone to our hero.

“I don’t like to talk about my health problems,
- speaks Igor Bokiy. - But I don’t wear glasses either - I feel uncomfortable.”

It is seen,
that a person breathes deeply and does not particularly suffer due to poor vision. results
Igor can be called “Paralympic”
also a stretch. From the Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yan(400 meters
freestyle) Paralympic Igor Bokiy behind by 18.64 seconds. Considering,
that Bokiy is only 18 years old, and this difference
can be significantly reduced over time.

Euroradio: What are your plans for the future? May be,
Will you compete with Michael Phelps?

Igor Bokiy: Yes, yes, it is part of my plans to perform at
arenas with healthy athletes. I hope to make it to the next Olympics so that
there, too, to compete, to compete.

Euroradio: That is, there will be no medical commissions
counteract this?

Igor Bokiy: This, on the contrary, is welcomed when a Paralympian
starts at the same level as healthy people.

Euroradio: You won so many medals! How will you be thanked?

Igor Bokiy: This is unknown to me yet. I haven't been interested in this yet.
I'm still working on results.

Euroradio: What conditions do you and your coach live in?

Igor Bokiy: We were not allocated any apartments. I rent a house
in Minsk, and the coach lives in a one-room
apartment, with a large family.

Euroradio: Why did you choose economics?
and went to BSU?

Igor
Bokiy: There is an economist-logistician, related specialties. In logistics
I'm figuring it out now. This is cargo transportation, calculated data. Everything related to
this. It's close to me and I like it.

In London
Igor Bokiy left as a completely unknown athlete, and returns to
Belarus on September 12th is already a sports legend. The state must pay the swimmer $230 thousand in bonuses:
50 thousand for each gold and 30 thousand for silver.

The rally of support for Russian Paralympians at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Rio is snowballing into other events and comments. The Belarusians who carried out the Russian flag are supported by many. However, the Games themselves are going on as scheduled. And on the very first day of competition we got a medal. And of the highest standard. Igor Bokiy won gold in the 100-meter butterfly in the S13 category, thus becoming a six-time Paralympic champion. The President congratulated the swimmer on his success.

Photo by REUTERS.

I heartily congratulate you on your confident and important victory for all of us! Through overcoming and hard work, showing incredible courage and the will to win, you won your sixth Paralympic Games champion title and proved that you have no equal,” the congratulations say.

The President noted that such victories clearly show that a purposeful person can overcome all circumstances and push the boundaries of what is possible.

Alexander Lukashenko wished the entire Paralympic delegation of Belarus self-confidence, iron endurance and fortitude.

“Keep it up, we are with you,” the President emphasized.

Yesterday our team's standard-bearer Alexander Triput achieved success. He came third in the javelin throwing competition.

Photo by Vitaly Gil.

Catch up and overtake

Igor Bokiy is nicknamed Belarusian Phelps. And at the Paralympics in Rio, he immediately began to prove that it was not in vain. In any case, in his first program, the modest 22-year-old guy from Bobruisk did not seem to notice his opponents. Already at the preliminary stage he set a new Paralympic record (54.54), and in the final swim he even improved it - 53.85. World record! To understand how decent this time is, it is enough to say that many completely healthy athletes swam slower at the recent Games in Rio, and our Pavel Sankovich and Evgeniy Tsurkin in the preliminary heats of the 100-meter butterfly were then only slightly faster (Pasha showed a time of 53.00, and Zhenya - 53.24).

Photo by REUTERS.

In one of his first interviews after the furor at the Paralympics in London, when Bokiy collected a collection of five gold and one silver medals, he said: “Now I really hope to qualify for the World Championships healthy. And the main goal, of course, is to get to the regular Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.” Bokiy has repeatedly competed among the strongest Belarusian swimmers at domestic competitions and even went to the World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona. However, he still did not break his connection with the Paralympic movement.

Natalya Pozdnyakova, coach and teacher of the Bobruisk Sports and Youth Sports School, who has been teaching children swimming for about 30 years and who once discovered Igor, does not rule out that her pupil will still make attempts:

- In 2013, he tried it and went to the World Championships. But I couldn’t swim there in my best seconds. Very very disappointed. And I decided not to give up invasport just yet. True, who knows what will happen next. Igor’s level of results is gradually rising, he is young, energetic, and ambitious. And from the age of 6 to 15, he swam next to healthy people. And he swam well.

- Although he has had vision problems since childhood...

- Yes, Igor always had difficulties with admission to competitions. His mother, with tears in her eyes, repeatedly begged the doctors to accommodate him and make an exception. But at the age of 15, when he wanted to get a job at the Olympic Reserve School in Minsk, he failed the medical examination. By that time, Igor was showing excellent results for his age: he was included in the national team roster and received the title of master of sports. And then they tell him, stop it. A real tragedy. Fine, good people advised to talk to the Paralympic team doctor.

- Do you remember how you met Igor?

- Of course, his parents brought him to me. As a child, Igor had increased joint flexibility plus vision problems. He was not allowed to do anything other than swim. But since he was an incredibly energetic and active boy, his parents wanted him to splash out his energy in sports. And he found himself swimming. A lot of children came to that recruitment, but Bokiy immediately showed himself excellently. The set came out strong then. For example, besides Igor, there is also Pasha Kopylov from that group.

- As far as I know, the infrastructure for swimming is difficult in Bobruisk.

- There is a 50-meter swimming pool on the very edge of the city. It's fine there. But we are suffocating from the lack of a standard 25-meter swimming pool and splash pool. IN Soviet times We made a swimming pool here in a former cathedral. But now there is a temple there again. And we, in the position of poor relatives, train in ugly conditions: two tracks of non-standard sizes, no ventilation... To be honest, you are afraid to watch 6-7 year old kids. After the Paralympics in London, there was talk that they would build us at least a small bath for the children’s primary education. Nose dead center the matter never progressed...

- Maybe after the Games in Rio the issue will be raised again. Bokiy is trying.

“I looked at how confidently he swam the 100-meter butterfly, and I see that Igor is superbly prepared. Anything, of course, can happen. But I think that he will have no fewer medals at this Paralympics than in London. Hope so.

Yesterday, the first Belarusian medalist of the XV Summer Paralympic Games was free from performances. But again, we had someone to cheer for. Alexander Triput won bronze. In addition, judoist Alexander Kozlov, rower Lyudmila Volchek, swimmers Alexandra Svadkovskaya and Grigory Zudilov competed. In total, our team in Rio includes 20 athletes, and they are determined.

Wave of support

Swimmer Igor Bokiy has already made the water boil in the Olympic pool by winning the 100-meter butterfly. But various media platforms continue to seethe mainly with discussions of the action of our Paralympic team at the opening ceremony of the Games.

Fighter Igor Kanygin states: “I consider them heroes with a capital letter. I salute the one who raised the Russian flag at the parade. The fact is that at one time I was also removed from Olympic movement. This happened in 1984. The USSR national team did not go to summer games to Los Angeles. I know from myself how unpleasant it is when, through no fault of your own, you are excluded from the main competitions of the four-year period.”.

The gymnast echoes him Lyubov Cherkashina: “The guilt of the Russian Paralympians has not been proven, but they were nevertheless suspended from participation in the Paralympics. How can people who are somehow deprived of fate, but have found a path in life and want to realize themselves in sports, be prohibited from coming to the Games? We have the right to express our civic position. If a person has the fortitude to show that he does not agree with what is happening now in world sports, I will take his side.”.

And here is the swimmer’s opinion Alexandra Gerasimeni: “As an athlete, I understand the action of our compatriot. The fact that the Russian team was suspended from the Paralympic Games is simply terrible. I don’t want to get into this, although perhaps there really is some kind of politics involved here. As an athlete, I understand this action of solidarity.”.

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